Nutritional assessment of genetically modified rapeseed synthesizing high amounts of mid-chain fatty acids including production responses of growing-finishing pigs

The nutritive value of genetically modified myristic acid-rich rapeseed, in which a acyl-thioesterase gene inserted, was studied. Crude nutrients, amino acid and fatty acid profiles as well as mineral and glucosinolate contents were determined and compared with those of the non-transgenic parental cultivar. The concentration of crude nutrients, minerals and amino acids were found to be within the range of natural variance. The myristic and palmitic acid content increased from 0.1 - 11.4% and from 3.6-20%, respectively, at the expense of oleic acid, which decreased from 68.6-42.6% of total fatty acids. The glucosinolate contents increased from 12.4 micromol/g in the parental plant to 19 micromol/g DM in the GM-plant. Full-fat rapeseed of both cultivars was incorporated in pig diets at a level of 15%, and the digestibility and the production efficiency were tested under ad libitum feeding conditions with ten pigs each over the growing finishing period from 32-105 kg BW. The experimental diets did not show significant differences in digestibility and energetic feeding value. However, feed intake and weight gain decreased presumably due to the increasing glucosinolate intake associated with the feeding of transgenic rapeseed. The dietary fatty acids profile influenced the fatty acid profile of body fat. Myristic acid accumulated in back fat and intramuscular fat while the oleic acid content decreased. The increased glucosinolate intake affected the weight of thyroid glands and their iodine concentration.     

Effects of different levels of ergot in concentrates on the growing and slaughtering performance of bulls and on carry-over into edible tissue

The aim of the present study was to examine long-term effects of low levels of ergot alkaloids on growing bulls. Natural grown ergot with a mean total alkaloid concentrations of 633 mg/kg, and ergotamine (25%), ergocristine (15%) and ergosine (13%) as the most prominent alkaloids, was used. In a dose-response study 38 Holstein Friesian bulls were fed with three different doses of this ergot (0, 0.45 and 2.25 g/kg concentrate corresponding to an average total alkaloid concentration of the daily ration of 0, 69 and 421 microg/kg DM) over a period of approximately 230 days. Live weight, feed intake and health condition were monitored over the entire test period. The bulls were slaughtered at a live weight of approximately 550 kg. Carcass composition and quality were recorded and samples of liver, muscle, kidneys, fat, bile, urine and blood were analysed for ergot alkaloids. Liver enzyme activities and total bilirubin were measured in the blood. Statistically, no significant differences were detectable between the three feeding groups. Mean live weight gain over all groups was 1.41 kg/d with a mean dry matter intake of 7.35 kg/d. No carry over into tissues could be proved out of the experiment. To derive a no-effect level for beef cattle further research including higher ergot doses will be necessary.     

Aryl Hetaryl Ketones and Thioketones as Efficient Inhibitors of Peptidyl‐Prolyl cis‐trans Isomerases

A series of 18 differently substituted new aryl hetaryl ketones and thioketones were synthesized in four to six steps from commercial starting materials. The new ketones were evaluated as inhibitors of the peptidyl‐prolyl cis‐trans isomerase hPin1 with K_i values ranging in the one‐digit micromolar to sub‐micromolar numbers. A crystal structure revealed the non‐planar arrangement of the aryl residues at the carbonyl compound and supports the hypothesis that the new compounds might mimic the transition state of the enzymatic conversion.     

Therapeutic Effect of a Gag-Nuclease Fusion Protein against Retroviral Infection In Vivo

Recently, remarkable progress has been made in developing effective combination drug therapies that can control but not cure retroviral replication. Even when effective, these drug regimens are toxic, they require demanding administration schedules, and resistant viruses can emerge. Thus the need for new gene-based therapies continues. In one such approach, capsid-targeted viral inactivation (CTVI), nucleases fused to viral coat proteins are expressed in infected cells and become incorporated during virion assembly. CTVI can eliminate infectious murine retrovirus titer in tissue culture. Here we describe transgenic mice expressing fusions of the Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) Gag protein to staphylococcal nuclease. This work tests the protective effect and demonstrates in vivo proof-of-principle of CTVI in transgenic mice expressing endogenous proviral copies of Mo-MuLV. The antiviral protein-expressing mice are phenotypically normal, attesting to the lack of toxicity of the fusion protein. The Mo-MuLV infection was much less virulent in transgenic littermates than in nontransgenic littermates. Gag-nuclease expression reduced infectious titers in blood up to 10-fold, decreased splenomegaly and leukemic infiltration, and increased life spans up to 2.5-fold in transgenic relative to nontransgenic infected animals. These results suggest that gene therapies based on similar fusion proteins, designed to attack human immunodeficiency virus or other retroviruses, could provide substantial therapeutic benefits.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Blastococcus colisei</Emphasis> sp. nov,isolated from an archaeological amphitheatre

The taxonomic position of an actinobacterial isolate, designated strain BMG 822^T, isolated from limestone from the Amphitheater of El Jem (Coliseum Thysdrus), Tunisia, was established using a polyphasic approach. Strain BMG 822^T was found to grow well at 30 °C and pH 6.5–8.0, and to be coral-coloured, Gram-positive, catalase and oxidase negative. Whole cell hydrolysates contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid, glucose, galactose and ribose. The phospholipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, hydroxy-phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified glycophospholipid and six unidentified phospholipids. MK-9(H₄) was found to be the predominant menaquinone, followed by MK-9(H₂) and MK-9. The major cellular fatty acids were identified as iso-C_16:0, C_18:1 ω9c, C_17:1 ω8c and iso-H-C_16:1. The G+C content of the DNA (73.2%) is typical of the genus. High degrees of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity were found with the type strains of the genus Blastococcus (97.1–98.3%) followed by the type strains of Modestobacter (96.8–97.8%). Based on the above data and the phenotypic differences from the type strains of Blastococcus species, it is proposed that the isolate BMG 822^T (=DSM 46837^T=CECT 8823^T) should be classified as the type strain of a novel species, Blastococcus colisei sp. nov.     

Oxidative stress and lipid mediators induced in alveolar macrophages by ultrafine particles

In ambient aerosols, ultrafine particles (UFP) and their agglomerates are considered to be major factors contributing to adverse health effects. Reactivity of agglomerated UFP of elemental carbon (EC), Printex 90, Printex G, and diesel exhaust particles (DEP) was evaluated by the capacity of particles to oxidize methionine in a cell-free in vitro system for determination of their innate oxidative potential and by alveolar macrophages (AMs) to determine production of arachidonic acid (AA), including formation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and oxidative stress marker 8-isoprostane. EC exhibiting high oxidative potential induced generation of AA, PGE2, LTB4, and 8-isoprostane in canine and human AMs. Printex 90, Printex G, and DEP, showing low oxidative capacity, still induced formation of AA and PGE2, but not that of LTB4 or 8-isoprostane. Aging of EC lowered oxidative potential while still inducing production of AA and PGE2 but not that of LTB4 and 8-isoprostane. Cellular ROS production was stimulated by all particles independent of oxidative potential. Particle-induced formation of AA metabolites and ROS was dependent on mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 activation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) as shown by inhibitor studies. In conclusion, cPLA2, PGE2, and ROS formation was activated by all particle types, whereas LTB4 production and 8-isoprostane were strongly dependent on particles' oxidative potential. Physical and chemical parameters of particle surface correlated with oxidative potential and stimulation of AM PGE2 and 8-isoprostane production.     

Mzabimyces algeriensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a halophilic filamentous actinobacterium isolated from a Saharan soil,and proposal of Mzabimycetaceae fam. nov.

Three halophilic mycelium-forming actinobacteria, strains H195^T, H150 and H151, were isolated from a Saharan soil sample collected from Béni-isguen in the Mzab region (Ghardaïa, South of Algeria) and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic characterisation. These strains were observed to show an aerial mycelium differentiated into coccoid spore chains and fragmented substrate mycelium. Comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the highest sequence similarities were to Saccharopolyspora qijiaojingensis YIM 91168^T (92.02 % to H195^T). Phylogenetic analyses showed that the strains H195^T, H150 and H151 represent a distinct phylogenetic lineage. The cell-wall hydrolysate was found to contain meso-diaminopimelic acid, and the diagnostic whole-cell sugars were identified as arabinose and galactose. The major cellular fatty acids were identified as iso-C_15:0, iso-C_16:0, iso-C_17:0 and anteiso-C_17:0. The diagnostic phospholipid detected was phosphatidylcholine and MK-9 (H₄) was found to be the predominant menaquinone. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain H195^T was 68.2 mol%. On the basis of its phenotypic features and phylogenetic position, we propose that strain H195^T represents a novel genus and species, Mzabimyces algeriensis gen. nov., sp. nov., within a new family, Mzabimycetaceae fam. nov. The type strain of M. algeriensis is strain H195^T (=DSM 46680^T = MTCC 12101^T).